When I was an older pup the boy where I lived would
bring a bowl with a few morsels of leftover human food in it. I was so hungry I
hurriedly started eating, then the boy would snicker, reach down and yank the
bowl away. My tummy would rumble because I was still hungry, but I would get
nothing else to eat that day.
At times the people who lived there brought other dogs
home and we'd get our food all at the same time. I tried to eat my share fast
but the other dogs were quicker and they would growl and try to shove me away
from my food. I tried to fend them off with a snarl or a nip. Sometimes it
worked and I got to finish my meal.
Most of the time I was chained to a tree and teenagers
would come around kicking and teasing me.
One day my collar rotted through and the chain fell away. I was free! I
got as far from that place as possible.
I ran until I could barely move. I heard honking. I
turned my weary head toward the sound and the car covered me. My back leg
snapped and I tumbled to the roadside. Something was also wrong with my
hindquarters. I could not crawl; the pain was overwhelming.
In the gutter I fell into a deep sleep and awakened
when hands gently picked me up. The man holding me was murmuring softly. He
laid me in a metal cubicle, in the back of the vehicle.
I was taken to a place that smelled of medicines and
other dogs and put in a cage. The next day I was carefully carried to a room,
put on a metal table. An alpha human shaved my front leg, stuck something into
my arm and I drifted away.
I rested and healed. One day I was given a warm bath
and toweled dry. My fur shone and no more bugs pestered me - it felt great! Soon
the people who were there during the day began to take me out and we would play
fetch, run and jump. I was given toys and treats ... and I have never been so
happy. I was held, cuddled, given affection!
After I was better a lady took me into a room. She
made loud noises while watching me. I didn't understand, but I was okay with
it. She opened an umbrella near my face, all the while studying me.
I guess she was proud of me 'cause all I did was wag
my tail, grinning happily, and when I could I'd reach up, put my paws on her
and give her kisses. She clapped her hands, and then gathered me to her in a
big hug, saying what a good boy I was.
Lastly, she got a bowl and filled it with food. I got
excited - I never tired of getting a meal, having had so few good ones in my
short life. She added water to the kibble and stirred it up some. Oh, it
smelled so good!
When she set it on the floor I went to it eagerly.
While I was eating, out of the corner of my eye I saw what looked like a hand
on a long pole. The hand came up to my bowl. I nudged the hand away from my
food, stepping around to block it.
The hand kept coming so I growled when it took my bowl
and pulled it away from me. I stepped over to get my bowl so I could finish
and, again, the hand was thrust at me.
I was remembering how the boy would tease me - how the
other dogs would come over to me and steal my food. I was now filled with that
same need to protect my meal. I snarled and snapped at the hand.
With a broken sigh, the woman called me to her. I
trotted over, panting my smile. I then rolled over, submissively, for a belly
rub. But, the lady was shaking her head, her face scrunched up. Something was
wrong, she'd been crying, was still crying.
She gave me a big hug and I licked her face. She had been
so good to me since they brought me here.
Early the next morning two of the workers came to my
kennel. They pulled me out tenderly, but I could sense something was not right
for them and that scared me. I shivered when one of the women held me her arms.
I was taken to that same room I had been in when they
made me better. The alpha human was waiting inside. The lady holding me sobbed
and I whined because it all felt wrong.
So scared I felt I was going to wet myself, I wagged
my tail. Is everything all right? I wanted to ask. There was no answer. The
workers held me on the table. I struggled against their warm hands.
One of the humans bent over and snuggled close to my
head, pressing me close, holding me tight. The other lady held my front leg
out, away from my body and I felt a sting. A feeling poured through me, like it
did the first time they brought me here, but it was strange and different. I
yelped weakly.
And then I was gone.
(© Kathy Pippig Harris, 2007;
Author’s note:
“Written in love for all the dogs that have been euthanized
because they have been labeled "Food Aggressive".
There are ways this behavior can be handled. If more
than one dog shares a home, feed them separate. Put one in a kennel and feed
him or her there.
If he or she is the only dog in the home, feed them
and leave them alone until they have finished their meal.
Put them with a human who understands why the dog
exhibits "food aggression".
If necessary, don't place them in a home with
children.”)
*****
I would like
to thank Kathy Pippig Harris for her
kind permission to publish her poems and writings on my blog.
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